2026 Utah State University Faculty Awards

The Utah State University's 2026 Faculty Awards Ceremony will be held on Wednesday, April 1 from 3:00 - 5:00 pm in the Russell/Wanlass Performance Hall. The ceremony will be hosted by the Office of the Provost and the Office of Research and will recognize faculty members' accomplishments.

Awards to be Recognized at the 2026 Ceremony

The USU Faculty Awards Ceremony included recognitions for the following awards:

 

USU Presidential Award for Civic and Community Engagement
 
Undergraduate Research Faculty Mentor of the Year
Nominees:
  • Carrie Durward | Nutrition, Dietetics & Food Sciences | S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
  • Liyuan (Joanna) Hou | Biological Engineering | College of Engineering
  • LuEttaMae Lawrence | Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences | Emma Eccles Jones College of Education & Human Services
  • Holly Murdock | Art + Design | College of Arts & Sciences
  • Lucas Rentschler | Department of Economics & Finance | Jon M. Hunstman School of Business
  • Srisharan Shreedharan | Geosciences | S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
  • Dorothy Wallis | Social Work | College of Arts & Sciences
Undergraduate Faculty Mentor of the Year Award
Nominees:
  • Austin Ball | Civil & Environmental Engineering | College of Engineering
  • Aishwarya Chandrasekaran | Environment & Society | S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
  • Jennifer Grewe | Psychology | Emma Eccles Jones College of Education & Human Services
  • Todd Griffith | Department of Economics & Finance | Jon M. Hunstman School of Business
  • Amanda Katz | History, Cultures, and Ideas | College of Arts & Sciences
  • Elsa Perez | World Languages and Cultures | College of Arts & Sciences
  • Andreas Wesemann | Aviation Technology | S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
Graduate Mentor of the Year Award
Nominees:
  • Kelly Bradbury | Geosciences | S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
  • Sarah Braden | School of Teacher Education and Leadership | Emma Eccles Jones College of Education & Human Services
  • Chris Hartwell | Department of Management | Jon M. Hunstman School of Business
  • Brett Hurst | Animal, Dairy & Veterinary Sciences | S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
  • Mirella Meyer-Ficca | Veterinary Clinical and Life Sciences | College of Veterinary Medicine
  • Sarah O'Neill | World Languages & Cultures | College of Arts & Sciences
  • Elizabeth Vargis | Biological Engineering | College of Engineering
Faculty University Service Award
Nominees:
  • Gregory Anderson | Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering | College of Engineering
  • Shannon Cromwell | Home and Community | USU Extension
  • Melanie Domenech Rodríguez | Psychology | Emma Eccles Jones College of Education & Human Services
  • T. Scott Findley | Department of Economics & Finance | Jon M. Hunstman School of Business
  • Rose Judd-Murray | Applied Sciences, Technology & Education | S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
  • Dennis Newell | Geosciences | S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
  • Jennifer Sinor | English | College of Arts & Sciences
Faculty Researcher of the Year Award
Nominees:
  • Peter Crooks | Department of Mathematics & Statistics | College of Arts & Sciences
  • Aryn Dotterer | Human Development and Family Studies | Emma Eccles Jones College of Education & Human Services
  • Brian Gowen | Animal, Dairy & Veterinary Sciences | S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
  • Matthew Jaremski | Department of Economics & Finance | Jon M. Hunstman School of Business
  • Belize Lane | Civil & Environmental Engineering | College of Engineering
  • Kezia Manlove | Wildland Resources | S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
  • E. Bart Tarbet | Veterinary Clinical and Life Sciences | College of Veterinary Medicine
  • Felipe Valencia | World Languages and Cultures | College of Arts & Sciences
Eldon J. Gardner Teacher of the Year Award
Nominees:
  • Casey Coombs | Nutrition, Dietetics & Food Sciences | S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
  • Erika Espinosa-Ortiz | Biological Engineering | College of Engineering
  • Stephen Kwiatek | Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling | Emma Eccles Jones College of Education & Human Services
  • Andreas Malmendier | Department of Mathematics & Statistics | College of Arts & Sciences
  • Sydney O'Shay | Department of Communication and Media | College of Arts & Sciences
  • Katie Potter | Geosciences | S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
  • Lacee Wilkey | School of Accountancy | Jon M. Hunstman School of Business
E.G. Peterson Extension Award
Nominees:
  • Brent Black | Plants, Soils and Climate | USU Extension
D. Wynne Thorne Career Research Award
Nominees:
  • Ning Fang | Engineering Education | College of Engineering
  • Robert Gillies | Plants, Soils, and Climate | S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
  • Dennis Hassan | Theatre Arts | College of Arts & Sciences
  • Brian Higginbotham | Human Development and Family Studies | Emma Eccles Jones College of Education & Human Services
  • Jennifer Sinor | English | Jennifer Sinor
Cazier Professor Lifetime Achievement Award
Nominees:
  • David (Andy) Anderson | Biology | College of Arts & Sciences
  • Ronald Gillam | Speech and Hearing Sciences | Emma Eccles Jones College of Education & Human Services
  • David Herrmann | Department of Marketing & Strategy | Jon M. Hunstman School of Business
  • James Powell | Department of Mathematics & Statistics | College of Arts & Sciences
  • Claudia Radel | Environment & Society | S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources

Review Faculty Awards for all award information, deadlines, and nomination process